


Figuring Stuff Out

by KodaOfHeart



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Couch Cuddles, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Meteorstuck, Mutual Pining, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 12:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20489174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KodaOfHeart/pseuds/KodaOfHeart
Summary: Loving to cuddle up with your best bro during movie nights is a totally platonic thing, right? Guys being dudes, no quadrants involved.Yeah that doesn't last long. The question is, who caves first?





	Figuring Stuff Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first Homestuck fic I wrote, recovered from the depths of my Google Drive. So it's not as well-worded as my others. It was however edited by @turingtestified, and yes I also can't believe I invited legal Dirk Strider to edit my dumb davekat makeout fic
> 
> Mentioned but too briefly to tag: Rose, Kanaya, Terezi, Gamzee
> 
> Rated Teen & Up for language and (brief but) heavy making out (nothing sexual)
> 
> As always I'm @ClownDefeated on Twitter, hope you enjoy, please be kind and let me know if you liked it!

It's a little over a month into the meteor journey, and everyone is already bored out of their minds. Routines start to settle in for each resident of the rock: Rose and Kanaya practicing alchemy and learning about each others' species, Gamzee honking away through the vent shafts, Terezi exploring the dream bubbles they pass through, and Dave and Karkat watching movies together every night. Today is no exception. The boys had started with a couple of Karkat's favorite Alternian films, but each one became an extremely frustrating merry-go-round of Karkat trying to eplain the complex romantic quadrants each character fell into with each other, and Dave playing dumb about it just to get Karkat worked up. So now they've settled on human cinema, especially since the lack of language barrier made it so little translation was needed. 

Just like nights prior, both boys sit on a red velvet couch, about a foot of space between them, watching the movie. At the beginning of the film they always make their own snide remarks, but as the night goes on they both usually get too tired to get too into it. Tonight they watch a movie they've already seen a couple times, since their collection on the meteor is scarce and Karkat really likes this one. 

The night and the movie both linger on into late hours, and both boys fight off tiredness for their own mysterious reasons. Karkat submits to his tiredness first, and while he knows he won't fall asleep tonight, he does start to get sick of sitting up or leaning against the couch's armrest.

"Dave, scoot over," he barks, almost making Dave jump at the sudden disturbance of the silence.

"You got it," Dave responds, and scoots closer to Karkat. The troll feels his cheeks heat up- with anger of course.

"No, you dense imbecile! The other way! I want to lay down and you're in the way."

Dave shrugs. "Nah dude I'm fine right here."

Karkat has already started. "Oh come the fuck on, this couch is plenty big. Just let me-"

"Shhhh! This is a good part," Dave shushes him, a normal and boring scene playing out on the husktop in front of them. Karkat furrows his brow and punches the human lightly in the arm, which he doesn't respond to at all. He just keeps that idiotically stoic face behind those shades. Karkat throws his hands up.

"Fine, fuck you then. I'm laying down anyway and you're going to be fully responsible for why it's about to get real awkward in here, douchebag." And with that, he curls up on his side with his head in Dave's lap and his arms crossed angrily. He remains stiff and braced, expecting Dave to shove him to the ground.

To Karkat's surprise, Dave remains quiet, with an unseen eyebrow raised. He doesn't say anything for the first time ever, and remains still. After a minute, he lowers his hands from the back of the couch to Karkat's side and head. The troll, who was beginning to relax, tenses up again.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demands.

"Well shit if you're going to get your cuddle on and curl up in my lap like a kar-kitten-" Dave starts.

"No, do  _ not _ call me that! And I already said I'm only fucking doing this because you refused to move. This wouldn't be some sort of affection session if you wouldn't be so damn stubborn, Strider." Ouch, not even a first name?

Dave doesn't remove his hands, and they stay in that position, half-watching the movie for a few more scenes. Then, as slowly and gently as he can, he starts petting the troll's hair. He had been secretly wondering what their hair felt like, and if it was soft. Karkat's was coarse and thick, with a few tangles here and there. But petting him feels nice.

Karkat's mind starts racing and he can feel his cheeks heat again. Trolls aren't much for cuddling or petting; such affection is usually saved for calming down moirails. But this is different, coming from a human who doesn't really understand any quadrants beside flushed. Are all humans this tactile or is it only this weirdo? It’s a species of palesluts, he’s sure of it. 

Despite his desperate confusion over trying to understand the situation, Karkat can feel himself relax and calm down, both mentally and physically. His heartbeat slows, his breaths come out evenly, and his chest starts a low rumble of contentment. Once the rumble starts to grow, Dave starts laughing. It's a rare but enjoyable sound.

"Holy shit, dude," Dave says between laughter, "you  _ purr _ ??" 

Karkat turns his head to look up at the human, perplexed and angry. "What the fuck is purr?"

"It's that vibrating thing that cats do when they're happy. Trolls really do it too?"

"It's a sublingual noise that trolls, and meowbeasts, make under certain situations, sure! I wouldn't expect you to understand, fuckass," he responds, rolling his eyes.

"Oh my god that's  _ adorable _ ," chuckles Dave. Karkat feels his face flush again and he turns back to the movie, grumbling something like  _ stop calling me that _ .

Soon enough, the petting resumes, and so does the purring, much to Karkat's embarrassment. The rest of the movie plays out quietly, and once it's over, Karkat rushes to his respiteblock without another word.

He lays awake in a pile of his romance novels and movies, staring at the ceiling and trying to understand the events that just unfolded. His relationship with Dave was already weird, as it could be seen as almost any of the quadrants depending on what angle you view it from. But Dave doesn’t understand that, and just sees him as a friend, right? Why hadn't he pushed him off though? Why had he pet him and called him adorable? He knew some of the humans were weird in what they found to be "cute" about the trolls, but was this just another example, or more? As the hours pass and Karkat tries to understand how Dave feels about him, he delves into even scarier territory: how does  _ he _ feel about  _ Dave _ ? Sure, he has had plenty of crushes before, and plenty of weird and failed relationships. But not with a human, not with anyone like Dave. He has annoyed him to no end, but made his mutant blood rise to his cheeks countless times. Plus, didn't humans have some weird conflict in their society about liking others of the same gender? Did Dave have that conflict? Oh obviously, he can't stop with the "gay" and "no homo" jokes, even though his sister is what they'd call a "homosexual". At the end of the night, he decides that he has to know his feelings as soon as possible. Crushes were easy to deal with across screens and with the assurance that if things went wrong they could just go their separate ways, but Dave was stuck with him on this tiny meteor for about a sweep and a half. Whatever these feelings were, there needed to be a clear start or end now.

A few hours later, since day/night cycles were hard to count on the meteor and both boys hardly had anything resembling a circadian rhythm, Karkat went to Dave's room and knocked on the door. He hears Dave mixing music from inside it, which stops right as the troll knocks. He hears Dave call out "hold up", then a long moment later he opens the door, wearing his god tier pajamas as always. He seems happy to see Karkat, even though his expression seems unchanged. His body language gets easier to read as you live with him for a while, Karkat figures.

"What's up?" Dave greets casually.

"Dave, can we talk?" Karkat asks, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously and his eyes not meeting the blonde's shades.

"Of course dude," Dave replies, opening his door wider to let the troll come inside. "But first, you gotta hear these rhymes I've been working on. They'll blow your mind like a-"

"What was with last night?" Karkat interrupts before the tangent gets to the point of no return.

"What?" Dave asks, genuinely oblivious.

"That cuddling stuff," Karkat explains, struggling to get the words out. "Is that a thing all humans do? Or is it just you? Or is it just you with me?"

Dave still looks confused. "Uh I'm pretty sure a lot of humans will pet someone laying on their lap. By the way, that's me reminding you that it was  _ you _ who laid on  _ me _ ."

"You wouldn't move over!" Karkat huffs.

"You could've shoved me, which you’re more than capable of doing, or leaned against the armrest like you've done before. I'm just saying, bro, you had choices, and your pillow of choice was my comfy as fuck thighs."

Suddenly, Karkat feels his heart in his throat. He's really not ready for this particular feelings jam, especially if Dave is showing signs of the incident being purely platonic from his perspective. He chickens out, and can feel every voice in his head screaming at him for being a coward.

"Whatever, you ass. Just show me what you've been working on," Karkat says, crossing his arms and nodding his head to Dave's sound board. Dave is also incredibly relieved to have the personal encounter turned casual.

Karkat punishes himself for the next many hours by forcing himself to listen to Dave's shitty raps. Of course he doesn't like him, of course Dave's voice is like claws on a chalkboard to his ears. Obviously.

That night, the routine starts up again. Movie starts, the boys make comments and debate about plot holes, they eat some of Dave’s weird snacks he had alchemized, etcetera. When the movie ends, they decide to put on another one. Such is not uncommon, as the movies are shorter than how long they both want to spend with each other, though they wouldn't admit it. Karkat uses this as an intermission to use the load gaper, and when he comes back, much to his frustration, Dave is laid out on the couch, taking up the whole thing with his long lanky body. He's on his side with his back against the backrest of the sofa, propping up his head with his arm and watching the screen which he navigates through the menus with the remote in his other hand. Karkat glares at him and puts his hands on his hips.

"Alright assface, where am I supposed to sit? Or are you challenging me to shove you off the couch this time?"

Dave just looks at him plainly, puts down the remote, and pats the open spot on the couch in front of him.

Karkat narrows his eyes and sits down on the spot Dave patted, which is in front of where his chest lays. He knows Dave wanted him to lay down, but he just wants to give him a hard time about it.

"Dude just lay down," Dave says.

"Why should I do that? I'm perfectly comfortable right here."

Sick of these games, Dave grabs the troll and tips him over so he falls into a little spoon position.

"What the fuck Strider!" Karkat gives a small struggle but mostly lets it happen. His heart starts pounding as Dave wraps an arm around the troll and pulls him closer, safely away from the edge. "Why are you being so touchy lately?"

Dave responds with an I-don't-know hum, which reminds Karkat how close Dave's face is to his ears. He closes his eyes to repress a shiver, and starts to purr again.

Dave chuckles and turns the movie on. After a bit, his arm gets tired and he tries to rest his head on the others', but his glasses make it uncomfortable, so he sets the on the table in front of the couch, and uses the troll's fluffy hair as a pillow.

_ Shit, he took his glasses off _ , Karkat thinks to himself.  _ This must be serious _ .

With the human's breaths now grazing Karkat's ears, he shivers. He's never had someone be this physically affectionate with him. It's comforting, but so alien to him that he can't help but fear it.

"It isn't  _ that _ cold in here," Dave remarks sarcastically.

Karkat grumbles something, but can't form coherent thoughts let alone words with Dave so damn close.

Nights come and go, movies are watched and rewatched, and the boys continue their cuddle sessions without talking more about what it means. Of course, that doesn't mean they're both just cool with it. Each party returns to their respectful rooms afterwards and lay awake wondering what the hell is going on between them, and trying to work out their feelings. After a few weeks, Dave is the one to shyly approach Karkat's respiteblock. He's spent all day working on the mask that hides his shyness, however, and he's prepared to be cool as a cucumber as always.

Karkat opens the door and is shocked to see Dave so early. 

"Hey. Am I late for movie night or something?" He runs his hands through his hair, messing it up even more, and Dave just stares at it behind the safety of his shades.

"What? No can't a dude just come over to his friend's room without a reason to do so? Shit it's like we don't even have free will on this meteor. I guess we really are far from the land of the free."

Karkat raises an eyebrow and opens the door for Dave. "Oooookay, come in then I guess."

Dave strides inside and just kind of stands around. He looks really lost, but looks at Karkat expectantly. The troll seems pretty lost too.

"Did you want to do something, Dave, or-?"

"What if I liked you?" the human blurts out.

Karkat's eyes go wide. "What." It's so bluntly stated it can't even be called a question.

"Shit I mean obviously you're my friend and everything and we've talked for a while and now we're stuck on this meteor where we end every boring day with some sort of snuggle sesh on that itchy as fuck piece of furniture watching some dumb movies but like what if I really liked holding you? What if I thought you were kind of good looking I mean how weird would that be? I talked to Rose and she keeps telling me how it's fine to like a troll and it's fine to like a guy but  _ of course she'd say that _ and she finally convinced me to come here and talk to you but I'm still not sure? What if I'm just being weird because there's so few of us here and I'm just a slut for some quality spooning and now I'm just making up some feelings that aren't there?" He looks like he wants to keep going but he’s out of breath and looking at the floor.

Karkat's head is spinning, trying to understand what the fuck Dave just confessed.  _ He likes me? Maybe? Or maybe he’s right and is just so desperate that he somehow finds me attractive?  _

Karkat can't think of anything to say, and just ends up staring at Dave. He looks so vulnerable, and looks up at the troll that his heart is confusedly yearning for.

"Fuck, Karkles, say something so I can know what the hell to do."

"Uh?" He scrambles for words. "I mean, I guess I've been feeling the same way? Humans are extremely touchy compared to trolls, which is super annoying, but it's different when you do it, and I have no idea what that fucking means."

Dave sits in one of Karkat's softer piles that's mostly clothes, and puts his face in his hands. "Dude I'll be honest and say I have no idea what to do. Could we do anything to, kinda, figure this out I guess? I really didn't think I was-"

"If you say 'gay', I swear to gog Dave I will pulverize you," Karkat interrupts and kneels by him on the floor. "That doesn't matter to trolls, and your Earth society is long gone."

"I know. But shit when you grow up with things hammered into your brain they kinda stick there."

There's a moment of quietness.

Karkat breaks it. "What did you mean by doing something to figure it out?" He's almost afraid to ask. He's almost afraid of this whole conversation. 

"I don't know man. Don't people, like, go on dates or kiss to figure this stuff out?"

Candy red blood rises in the troll's cheeks. "Hate to break it to you, but as far as I know people do those things once they've figured it out and the answer is yes."

Dave looks up and stares at Karkat intensely. "Karkat can I please kiss you?"

Karkat would swear that Dave is using his time powers, as everything seems to stand still. They just stare at each other, frozen, not even breathing. 

"Uh, i-if you want, but just a warning that I've never..." he trails off as he seriously entertains the thought of kissing Dave Strider.

"Me either," the human confesses, "so no high expectations here."

"Lose the shades though, dude." Karkat attempts to sound confident and not as breathless and scared as he really is.

"Come on bro, I'm already feeling ass-naked here spilling my guts to you."

Karkat starts to turn away. "Fine then, keep the douchey eyewear on."

In a flash, Dave sets the glasses down softly on the floor and pulls Karkat back to face him. His red eyes stare into Karkat's yellow ones with intense desperation. He licks his lips, and the troll feels his heart skip beats.

The angle with them sitting beside each other on the floor seems awkward, so Dave lifts Karkat onto his lap. The latter starts to protest of being handled in such a way, but is cut off by soft lips meeting his. 

His eyes close and he sighs into the kiss. They both stay like that, unmoving, lips pressed together, for a moment that simultaneously feels like it lasts a split second as well as sweeps.

When they part, Karkat opens his eyes and sees that Dave is breathing a bit heavily, and looking at him with an expression that's impossible to put into words. He seems like he just figured out all the answers.

"Dave?" Karkat says, his voice barely above a whisper. He doesn't have anything besides that to say, but just can't stand the silence.

Dave, realizing that that attempt at a kiss was very weak but made him want more, kisses him again, taking a different approach this time. Driven by his emotions and ignoring his thoughts, he grabs Karkat's messy locks of hair, pulling him in and mashing their lips together. Karkat groans at the hair grabbing, and puts his hands on Dave's waist. They kiss more, this time with desperate aggression and lips definitely moving. They’re making up for all the romantic tension from the cuddling, all the nights staying up fantasizing what-ifs, all the general emotions they’ve been repressing. Dave bites on Karkat's lower lip, making the troll emit a breathy moan and lightly clawing on Dave's back, very jealous that he couldn't do the same in return without risking drawing blood with his fangs. Instead, Karkat opts for snaking his tongue into the other boy's mouth, feeling Dave's face heat up in response.

After some glorious moments of much-needed making out, the two pull apart, touching foreheads and breathing heavily. Karkat keeps his eyes closed, and Dave uses this opportunity to examine the other's face. His cheeks are stained red, as are his own. The two could only be described in one way: flushed.


End file.
